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What the Ancient First Fruits Teach Us About Jewish Joy

JL;DR SUMMARY The bikkurim ceremony, depicted in the Beth Alpha synagogue mosaics, highlights the Jewish value of performing mitzvot with joy. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

MosesJewish HistoryLand Of IsraelMitzvotJoyNetzivFirst FruitsBikkurimBeth AlphaDevarim 26

Places mentioned

Beit Shean, Northern District, Israel
"One such example of bridging Israels past with its future are the bikkurim murals found in the Beth Alpha synagogue, located near Beit Shean in northern Israel."
Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, Israel
"The Mishna (Bikkurim chpt. 3) describes how residents of villages in Israel would sleep in the streets overnight and in the morning set out with music, oxen decorated with gold-plated horns and wreaths of olive leaves, leading the way to Yerushalayim."

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Retrieved 2025-09-13 05:30:43 UTC
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